Cyriacus of Ancona

Cyriacus of Ancona or Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli (31 July 1391 – 1452) was a humanist and antiquarian who came from a prominent family of merchants in Ancona, a maritime republic on the Adriatic coast of the Italian Peninsula. He has been called the "Father of Archaeology":

"Cyriac of Ancona was the most enterprising and prolific recorder of Greek and Roman antiquities, particularly inscriptions, in the fifteenth century, and the general accuracy of his records entitles him to be called the founding father of modern classical archaeology."

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyriacus_of_Ancona